IPL 2021, SRH vs MI: Preview, head-to-head and stats
The 31st game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will see Sunrisers Hyderabad locking horns with Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Defending champions Mumbai Indians are coming off an incredible win against Chennai Super Kings, having chased down a mammoth 219. Meanwhile, the bottom-placed SRH are still struggling after changing their captain midway through the season. Here is the preview.
A look at the head-to-head record
Mumbai Indians boast a slightly better record than SRH in the head-to-head encounters. In 17 matches, MI have won nine with a win percentage of 52.94. Meanwhile, SRH have managed to win eight (win percentage: 47.06). Since IPL 2019, MI have won four out of five matches against SRH. The Mumbai Indians defeated SRH in the first match this season.
Here are the top performers
SRH's David Warner has amassed 661 runs from 19 games at a strike-rate of 138.87 against Mumbai Indians. In the bowling segment, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has scalped 18 wickets with a best bowling performance of 3/21. Against SRH, Kieron Pollard owns 418 runs at 46.44, while Jasprit Bumrah has snapped up for 13 wickets with a match best haul of 3/24.
The key battles to watch out for
The battle between two Kiwi superstars, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, will draw attention. Over the years, Williamson has scored 22 runs off 14 balls against Boult, while the latter has dismissed Williamson once. Interestingly, Rashid Khan has managed to hold the dangerous Hardik Pandya. The Afghan leg-spinner has dismissed Pandya twice, having conceded 18 runs off 33 balls.
A look at the interesting stats
The SRH management sacked Warner as captain, but leaving him out of the XI might not be fruitful. He carries the highest percentage of team runs (28.68% for SRH) in T20 cricket. His last three scores against MI read as - 36 (run-out), 85*, and 60. Interestingly, Rashid has picked up 26 wickets at 16.23 in the middle overs since IPL 2020.
